Officials       

The last of the international engagements in which Ireland have to figure during the present season, played at Belfast on Saturday, was expected to help the English Association in the duty of selecting the team to meet Scotland in the great event of the year, and quite an array of members of the English body put in an appearance at the beautiful ground of the North-East Agricultural Society at Balmoral, to watch the game, and, if possible, profit by it. Whether, however, they went away in a more enlightened state of mind than they were in when they arrived is another matter altogether. Bot only in England, bit in Ireland, was the greatest interest attached to the meeting, the twenty-first between the countries, and as the weather was in pleasant contrast to that usually associated with such functions in Belfast, a big crowd filled the spacious stands and enclosures. The figures were not known, but so far as could be gleaned the attendance was about 14,000. With the expectations that a light wind was blowing and a strong sun shining, the conditions under which the game was played may be described as ideal, and the arrangements were in every sense of the word perfect.
  Forman, who acted as captain, elected to play with the sun and wind behind him.
  Gara started for Ireland, and the opening play was rather tame. The Irish were first into their stride, but before they could get within shooting distance, Crompton stepped in and cleared. They, however, came again, but Morrison overran the ball. England, through Hogg, Bloomer, and Calvey, got to the other end, and Nicholl let in Blackburn, but the latter, fortunately for the Irish, shot out. Aided by a free kick, Ireland advanced. Crompton heading away cleverly from a long kick by one of the backs. A free kick against Crompton  was well placed by Boyle, but, try as they might, the Irishmen at this period, although they were desperately near it, could not score, three hard drives from Morrison being blocked in tantalising fashion. Iremonger at length cleared the goal, and, working down on the right, Hogg dropped the ball into the centre from the line, but Milne and Boyle averted disaster. Mercer might have made good use of a smart pass from Morrison, but allowed Iremonger to chip in and spoil the movement. The Burnley man was inches wide a little later on with a good shot, and then Boyle gave England her first corner, which, however, was not improved on. Slack play by each side followed, but more particularly by Ireland, whose players made the mistake of indulging in the short passing game. They were no match for the visitors in this respect. Kirwan, with a magnificent run on the left, brought the ball down single-handed, and shot excellently, George clearing capitally.  Although the English team was the superior in their tackling and did most of the pressing, they failed to score, and lost many chances by bad shooting. In fact, Bloomer was the only one of the forwards to seriously trouble Reilly, who saved beautifully from the Derby man. It was not, however, by any means a one-sided game, and half-time arrived with no score.
   The opening play in the first few minutes of the second half was confined to English territory, but gradually the ball was got away to the other end, where Hogg shot wide. Fast passing bouts by either team ensued, during which the Englishmen showed superiority, but Ireland, by a break-away on the left, took play to their opponents' goal, where Crompton fisted out inside the line, and a penalty kick was given. Milne was entrusted with the kick, which George saved, and shortly afterwards Morrison made a mess of a good chance right in front of George. The game was now very exciting, but the football was not of a very scientific order. Several times Forman set Bloomer and Hogg going, but Boyle and Milne stopped them. Reilly saved some capital shots from Bloomer, Settle, and Calvey. Although not playing up to expectations, England did most of the attacking, and Settle, getting the ball, sent it in along the ground, and beat Reilly all the way, a stubbornly-contested game ending.
   

The English team won its second international match of the season under Association rules, beating Ireland at Belfast, on Saturday, by one goal to none. Under the conditions the team may be said to have played well. The ground handicapped the forwards, so that it is impossible to speak at all highly of the attack. With the ball constantly in their opponent's half the English forwards should certainly have scored more than once ; but, apart from the difficulty of controlling the ball, they had a splendid goalkeeper to beat, Reilly, of Portsmouth, who was at his best. The match was played on the ground of the North-East Agricultural Association. The turf, naturally coarse, was very uneven and soft after rain. Much of the play was excellent, and the game was so well contested all through that the 12,000 people present had plenty to interest them......Milne, however, failed to score from a penalty, George saving by falling on his knees......with Reilly's clever defence and erratic shooting it was not until five minutes of time that Settle scored the point which gave England the victory. Some smart passing by Hogg, Bloomer, and Calvey brought the ball across to Settle, and he shot low and hard just out of Reilly's reach...In one respect the match was unsatisfactory. A great many free kicks were given, and many of these stoppages appeared unnecessary, as the game was always played in the best possible spirit.